Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.
The prompts: This story must contain the line, "Are we there yet?"
Dubious Upgrade
The little spider-bot scampered down the passageway, barely able to contain its excitement. He had just completed a software upgrade. Now he was qualified as interim missile sponge, level one. He didn’t know what that meant other than when there was action; he would be the first to know about it.
He had graduated with a class of twenty other spider-bots. The instructors had seemed especially anxious to have a new and plentiful supply of missile sponges. Apparently there was a system battle scheduled sometime during the next ten to fifteen ship cycles.
Now, as he scampered down the passageway, he spotted a data port. On a whim, he decided to check in on the ship’s progress toward the battle zone.
“This is interim missile sponge, level one identification number 54FE. Are we there yet?”
The ship’s controlling Artificial Intelligence had apparently had enough.
“I swear to God. The next one of you little bots that asks me that is going to get spaced. We will get there when we get there!”
Rebuffed, the little bot quickly unjacked and scampered off in a random direction, anxious to be anywhere other than there.
As he flitted down a random passageway, he imagined what the battle would be like. They had told him he would be part of the very important first wave. The missile sponges would soak up the enemy’s initial assault.
He felt his virtual chest swell in anticipation of the honors that would be heaped upon him. In the back of his mind, there remained one unanswered question. Just exactly what was a missile sponge? For some reason; that information had been left out of the software upgrade.
He noticed another data port. At least five minutes had passed since his last inquiry.
“Are we there yet?”
Word count 298
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Bad Guess
Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.
The prompts: This story must contain the words: Tools, Flood and Light
Bad Guess
The house he grew up in - gone; swept away with the rest of the town.
It was merciful though.
Don’t let then think I’m not merciful.
There were no warning bells; no screams. Only a bit of the backhand of God. One moment the town was there; the next…
Under the light of the moon, then entire event had an eerie sense of divinity
Floods can be so cleansing, Eddie thought…and abrupt.
That last bit brought him a smile.
It was good to smile. After being raised under the lash his father’s punishing god, Eddie had finally broken free. No more suffering for a wrong thought. No more, “No dinner for you, you sinner.” No more suffering from the misinterpreted writings in a leather bound tome authored by men claiming to know something unknowable.
No more suffering under laws dictated by a voice that no one could hear.
Eddie had found something better.
No, that is not quite right.
Something better had found Eddie.
It had found him locked in the shed outside where he lay shivering on a worn mattress; nothing special - just his daily ration of wrath for whatever offense his father imagined Eddie had committed.
Eddie had been found by The Voice and his life changed.
The Voice spoke and Eddie listened.
It had told him how to use the special tools that would damage the dam so it would fail in just the right way, at just the right time.
“That’s just the beginning,” it had said.
Now, as Eddie turned from the destruction he’d unleashed, he could hear the voice stroking him gently with words of praise.
“Well done Eddie. Well done. Next, we set things to burn.”
“Are you God?” Eddie asked.
“What would be your second guess?” the voice replied innocently.
Word count 300
The prompts: This story must contain the words: Tools, Flood and Light
Bad Guess
The house he grew up in - gone; swept away with the rest of the town.
It was merciful though.
Don’t let then think I’m not merciful.
There were no warning bells; no screams. Only a bit of the backhand of God. One moment the town was there; the next…
Under the light of the moon, then entire event had an eerie sense of divinity
Floods can be so cleansing, Eddie thought…and abrupt.
That last bit brought him a smile.
It was good to smile. After being raised under the lash his father’s punishing god, Eddie had finally broken free. No more suffering for a wrong thought. No more, “No dinner for you, you sinner.” No more suffering from the misinterpreted writings in a leather bound tome authored by men claiming to know something unknowable.
No more suffering under laws dictated by a voice that no one could hear.
Eddie had found something better.
No, that is not quite right.
Something better had found Eddie.
It had found him locked in the shed outside where he lay shivering on a worn mattress; nothing special - just his daily ration of wrath for whatever offense his father imagined Eddie had committed.
Eddie had been found by The Voice and his life changed.
The Voice spoke and Eddie listened.
It had told him how to use the special tools that would damage the dam so it would fail in just the right way, at just the right time.
“That’s just the beginning,” it had said.
Now, as Eddie turned from the destruction he’d unleashed, he could hear the voice stroking him gently with words of praise.
“Well done Eddie. Well done. Next, we set things to burn.”
“Are you God?” Eddie asked.
“What would be your second guess?” the voice replied innocently.
Word count 300
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